The former
Tanzanian president Benjamin William Mkapa, who died on July 24, was the
country's
third president. He was in office from 1995 to 2005.
Born in 1938 in
Masasi south-eastern Tanzania, Mkapa was a staunch supporter of the
Tanzania African National Union, which won independence from Britain in
1961 under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. His star rose steadily under
Nyerere's long reign - from 1961 to 1985 - as leader of the renamed party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi.
In addition to
being editor of the party newspaper and establishing the national news
agency Shihata, he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Information and Culture and Science, Technology and Education.
Mkapa was thus an experienced communicator, politician and administrator when he entered the presidency.
Mkapa's presidency
is particularly significant since it represents the first phase of
Tanzanian multi-party democracy. It was Nyerere who in 1991 opened
debate on a multi-party democratic system for Tanzania. He saw it coming
in the wake of developments in neighbouring Kenya, where multi-party democracy was promoted at an early stage by church leaders, civil society and the population at large.
His reported response in Kiswahili loosely translates to,
When you see your neighbour being shaved, you're best advised to wet your beard otherwise you will have a rough shave.
Nyerere was a firm
supporter of Mkapa and was instrumental in Mkapa's party nomination to
stand for the first multi-party election in 1995.
Mkapa's government
initially faced a gloomy economic position. This was partly based on
global economic stagnation. It was also partly due to the previous
government's lack of economic and institutional discipline. His
predecessor Ali Hassan Mwinyi (1985-1995) had lost the trust of the international financial institutions which provided substantial assistance and loans.
The first main
challenge for Mkapa was to enhance the discipline in state finances and
stabilise the economy. The second was restoring confidence among donors
by pursuing western-backed neo-liberal market policies. Having agreed to
implement proposals endorsed by donors, Mkapa quickly won international trust.
Growth amid old challenges
The resumption of
external development assistance was not enough to immediately spur the
economy. During the 1990s the average annual real per capita GDP shrank slightly.
But during his second term it grew markedly. The main drivers included gold and gemstones, tourism and construction.
Mkapa also oversaw a period in which poverty levels declined,
however slightly. Hunger statistics from 2005 showed that rural people
were worse off than those of the urban population. His attention to
rural areas, so important for Nyerere, grew only towards the end of his
presidency.
However, instead of
strengthening village and women land rights which the land laws of 1999
tried to do, he went for a top-down formalisation of individual land
rights championed by the Peruvian economist deSoto.
Mkapa came to see "property and business formalisation" as a major priority of his government well aligned to international financiers who supported his government handsomely.
These transitions
were unable, for the time being, to challenge village and smallholder
production and land management systems. But they did create an opening
for future administrations to attract foreign investors pushing large
scale mechanised agriculture which demand land (mostly village) but
provide limited employment.
Coupled with a decline in manufacturing, a rapidly growing rural population was left with limited exit options.
Thus, at the end of
Mkapa's term the challenge of a structural transformation of the
economy that could redistribute growth and create sustainable production
systems that could absorb labour and importantly rural youth, remained
unresolved.
Anti-corruption crusade
At an early stage,
Mkapa sought to enhance the legitimacy of his government both
domestically and externally by fighting corruption. His anti-corruption
strategy - laid out by the Warioba Report - started in 1996.
But his crusade
didn't result in significant change. Petty corruption linked to foreign
business and investment appeared to decline. But graft linked to
household service delivery such as health and water did not. In fact,
the evidence is that corruption showed an increase during his second presidential term and beyond.
One area where
Mkapa's term saw important institutional, policy and legal development
was the forestry sector. This is saw 8 000 registered villages and
community groups managing 70-80 % of the national land on behalf of the
state. Policies such as this opened a space for rural and village
involvement.
Thus people could
use existing institutions from below for the purpose of managing
community and joint forest management for villagers' own benefits. In a
significant way, this was Mkapa trying to instil a democratic and
participatory spirit in Tanzania.
Legacy
After his
presidency Mkapa was much sought after for his spirit of cooperation,
participation and peace. He became an important mediator in conflicts
across Africa and including the Kenyan post-election conflict in 2007 and the 2011 referendum in South-Sudan.
The graduate of Makerere and Columbia is rightly hailed by Kenyan and others as a peace maker and true East African and Pan Africanist.
For his people in
south eastern and coastal Tanzania he will most certainly be remembered
as the president who made real their desire for better transport,
communication and cooperation in their part of the country. In 2003 the
construction of the long awaited bridge - the Mkapa Bridge - across the
Rufiji river - was finalised.
For Tanzanians -
maybe as a whole - he will also be remembered as a president who
continued and secured the path of peace and cooperation between - and
for - his peoples. He was 81.
Kjell Havnevik and
Aida Isinika jointly edited Tanzania in transition - from Nyerere to
Mkapa. Published in 2010 by the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala and
Mkuki na Nyota, Dar es Salaam.
Kjell Johannes Havnevik, Professor Emeritus, University of Agder
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